


A Teaching Moment

by Rueitae



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Carmen and Player are geography nerds and I LOVE THAT, Chase and Julia are also a part of this family i love them too, Gen, Geography Teacher Player, Ivy Zack Shadowsan Julia and Chase are there but no speaking roles, Player & Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep Friendship, Player (Carmen Sandiego 2019) Centric, Player went from smallest to tallest, Post-Canon, Reflection, Team as Family, Ten Years Later, and is still a smug (young adult), is my favorite headcanon, ish, just Player and Carmen chilling and reminiscing, the only thing better is geography teacher Carmen, therefore I wrote this, this is the epitome of 'make the content you want to see'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 18:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29193702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rueitae/pseuds/Rueitae
Summary: Roughly eight years after the end credits, Player finds himself in a profession that 12-year-old him would have laughed at himself over. Carmen offers reassurance.
Relationships: Player & Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 42
Kudos: 132





	A Teaching Moment

**Author's Note:**

> Writing for a new fandom has been like a breath of fresh air. I'm so excited to dip my toes in here and explore some new characters. 
> 
> My heartfelt thanks to Sakarrie for egging me on and beta-ing. I've been having so much fun brainstorming and am thrilled its translating into fic.

It has been a long time since Player last stepped foot inside of a public school during regular hours, but not so long to have forgotten the very distinct smell of sweat-drenched gym clothes along with the sounds of slamming lockers and squeaky sneakers in the hallway.

The chattering students behind Player takes him further down memory lane as he writes his name in large, simple script on the whiteboard for the fifth time that day. He’s made it through four periods already, he can do one more and then call his first day back one for the books.

There will be no termite bees on his watch this time.

He pops the lid back onto the red marker and sets it down on the tray next to the eraser. The classroom is much warmer now than between periods, so Player rolls up the sleeves of his white dress shirt and straightens up his red tie. Not that it matters. He’ll have inevitably fallen back into the disheveled look he’s most comfortable with by mid-period.

Plucking the thick black frames from his breast pocket and placing them on his face, he closes his eyes. Perhaps it’s a silly tradition considering he doesn’t even need corrective lenses, but it’s a nostalgic habit. He stopped wearing a white hat when he teamed up with Carmen. Now that he’s focused on his newest endeavor, it feels fitting to have a piece of clothing that differentiates himself from the hacker.

Thoughts of self-coded computer programs melt away as he turns his focus to political maps and history. Settled in the teaching mindset, he turns to face the class— _his_ class—and puts his fingers into his mouth. The best way to get their attention is to do something unexpected. Since hacking into the school’s heating and cooling system would likely get him fired, he whistles.

The chatting stops instantly. About twenty-five sets of nine-year-old eyes turn their attention to him.

“Hey, class,” Player says in his most friendly and easygoing tone, waving casually with the hand outside his pocket. “Welcome to Geography. I’m Mr. Bouchard. Everyone excited to learn about the world?”

Not a peep. A quiet group then. Player thanks his lucky stars that they’re not hyperactive like the group right after lunch, especially since it's the end of the school day. Though, he had hoped for a little more enthusiasm.

_Seriously? Which side of the falls?_

“Okay, tough crowd. We’ll start off small,” he continues, taking up the red marker. “Let’s get to know each other. How about everyone tells me the most interesting place they’ve ever been to?”

Some kids look at each other warily. Others gaze longingly towards the row of cracked open windows on the south-facing wall, where the playground sits tantalizingly within reach, and the warm end of summer breeze taunts them all. Finally, one little girl with twin pigtails tentatively raises her hand.

Player takes a brief look at the attendance cheat sheet lying on his desk. “Yes.” He points to her. “Abby! What’s the coolest place you’ve been to in the world?”

Abby sets her arm down on her desk and stretches them both, fingers wiggling with what was with likely nerves. “I’ve never been outside of Toronto,” she says softly, clearly dejected that she can’t answer the question better.

For a lingering moment, Player sympathizes with her. It wasn’t too long after the fourth grade that he decided he wanted to see the world outside of Niagara Falls. Since his parents worked and couldn’t travel much, he put all of his energy into the computer, seeing the world virtually.

And, oh boy, did he ever see the world.

“Toronto,” Player declares as he turns around and twirls the marker through his fingers with practiced ease. Then, he writes the name of the city on the whiteboard. “Known as the Town of York before 1834, Toronto today is the capital of Ontario, Canada and boasts a population of nearly three million people,” he rattles on, making a fancy number one in front of the name. He turns around, placing the cap on the end of the marker in anticipation of the inevitable flood of responses that’s about to come. “Home of the Hockey Hall of Fame, high tech museums and zoos, as well as the free-standing CN tower…” Cocking his head to the side, he grins, the thrill of investigating cities and countries for counter-capers surging through his blood as if it were yesterday. “With 40 million visitors annually, I’d say the world agrees with me that Toronto is a pretty interesting place.”

Oh yeah, he’s still got it.

Sometime during his little tour guide spiel, even the kids who longed for the playground are paying attention with wide eyes, as if they never considered their own hometown such an amazing place to be, even if it is such a hot spot tourist destination.

“Anyone else?” he offers with a smile, knowing what’s about to come. Today’s mission objective to get the kids involved has worked like a charm.

Twenty-four hands wiggle in the air with varying levels of enthusiasm.

Player writes down each place diligently, even from Tommy, who’s greatest place is the secret door to his grandmother’s basement. Some of the kids have been across the border briefly to explore both sides of Niagara Falls, and others even as far south as Florida for the greatest of childhood vacations. He finally gets to write Calgary at number twenty-four. Though it's a large city, its not a huge tourist destination being out on the plains of Alberta. Still, with the yearly Stampede, he is amazed only one in this class has made the four hour flight.

“Okay, last one,” he announces. It’s taken nearly the entire class time to get the answers from the kids and discuss what makes each place unique, but seeing them all engaged in each others’ places gives him peace and makes him feel right at home. It wasn't all that long ago he was in their shoes, excitedly exchanging fun facts with his friends.

_It says here some islands are home to the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. They can grow up to ten feet long!_

_I'll skip the petting zoo. But I've always wanted to see Wayang shadow puppetry. It's over a thousand years old, but still performed at festivals there today._

With a quick look back at his attendance sheet, Player searches for the one student who hasn’t answered yet.

And he can’t help but inhale a sharp breath when he sees her name.

“Carmen,” he says softly over the chatter, locking eyes on a girl with reddish-brown hair that transports Player back years ago to a small diner near his parent’s house.

Carmen sits up, swinging her short little legs back and forth, smiling brightly and proudly. “I’ve been to Morocco.”

The class marvels over the fact that someone in the room has been over the Atlantic ocean and little Carmen soaks it all in, taking all the attention of her classmates to herself and quickly regaling them with her adventures there.

It’s a one-two punch to Player’s gut, numbing him to the classroom chatter. Suddenly he’s twelve years old again, stupidly excited over finally finding out his best friend is in Casablanca, unaware at how both their lives are about to change. Then he’s sixteen, staring at his computer monitors and performing a last minute mic check before he and a different Carmen are in Poitiers, ready to take back what VILE had stolen four years prior.

“Morocco, a country in northern Africa,” Player recites mindlessly, even though none of them are listening to him anymore, in favor of someone their own age. He knows these facts better than any other place on Earth. “Known for its commercial center of Casablanca, it is notably the excavation sit of the Eye of Vishnu, one of the largest gemstones in the world.”

The children continue to talk over him, peppering Carmen with questions as if they’ve not heard a word he just said. Their voices fill the void about the places they want to go see in person someday.

A part of him misses the thrill of capers, evading governments and evil organizations alike. It probably isn’t fair to Carmen, but he’d confided in her early on that even though he was fully aware how real the danger was, it sometimes felt as if he were playing a video game. Easier than a video game, as good as Carmen is. Player grins—as good as he is. It’s a feather in his cap to this day that the ACME as an organization and the former VILE alike still don’t know he exists.

“Mr. Bouchard?”

That snaps Player out of it, and he raps his forehead with the cap end of the marker. _Get your head in the game, Player!_

The kids are all staring at him again, smiles on their faces after the lively conversation. A boy with a head of red hair, freckles all over his face, raises his hand and nearly stands on his chair— _Yeah Boston, like the tea party!_ —but his name is Greg, not Zack. “What’s the most interesting place _you’ve_ ever been?” he asks excitedly.

Where he’s been?

He can tell them when he enjoyed a concert at the Sydney Opera House and saved an electrician, or how he traveled the canals of Venice and saved ancient masks from the hands of cruel thieves. That he’s been to Poitiers and seen the Eye of Vishnu in person, seen the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London. He’s learned how to fry chicken in Louisiana and awed over a pair of priceless samurai swords with more history than just that of feudal Japan. He’s raced cars in Dubai and searched for buried treasure in Egypt, Norway, and Turkey.

He’s been to a small speck of land in the Canary Islands where he met his best friend.

Player smiles wryly. “I think the most interesting place in the world is Niagara Falls. There’s this diner near my parents’ house that serves the best burgers. Can’t beat it.”

Despite the students’ previous engagement over how their peers’ domestic responses, their faces fall in frustration at Player’s answer. It is clear from their unamused expressions that they’d thought their geography teacher would have a more interesting answer.

The bell rings, putting the school day to an end. Like feeding piranhas, the kids gather up their backpacks and get ready to go home.

Player snaps the lid back on the marker, likewise putting a cap on the day and urging his mind from the past to the future. “Tomorrow we’re jumping right into Provincial history,” he warns them, raising his voice over the bustle of scampering feet. “Bring your thinking hats!”

The kids are gone as he finishes, the door swinging shut behind the last student. Player sighs, shoulders slumping as he sits heavily onto his desk, marker limp in his fingers. He’s on such a roll, had their undivided attention. Now he hopes that his good fortune will continue tomorrow. And the day after that. And for the rest of the year.

And for the next thirty years.

There’s a knock at the door. Player tosses the marker into the air and catches it again as he stands. “Come on in, Mrs. Rogers,” he calls, grabbing the eraser and cleaning the board.

While ready for his mentor teacher, he isn’t prepared for who actually greets him.

But he always welcomes it.

“Sure you aren’t going to be handing out white hats by the end of the year?” the voice teases.

Bubbles of joy fill his heart quicker than any soda. Grinning from ear to ear, he turns his head to greet his oldest friend. Carmen leans an arm against the open door, standing on the threshold to his classroom. She looks as if she hasn’t aged a day.

“Red,” he greets with admiration. “It’s been too long.”

Carmen grins, laughter in her eyes, as she enters the room and closes the door behind her. “It’s only been a week, Player. And here I thought I was the dramatic one.”

Player rolls his eyes and scoffs, his own stupid grin never leaving his face as he sets down the eraser. He meets Carmen halfway and wraps his arms around her shoulders in a tight hug. “I’m plenty dramatic, too!” he contests with a chuckle. Breaking away a bit reluctantly, he considers how he’s a full head above her now. “You know, you _used_ to be a lot taller in person.”

Hands on her hips, Carmen raises her eyebrows, lips curled up in amusement. “And you look like a mini Agent Devineaux,” she fires back, before thoughtfully adding, “Glasses are a nice touch.”

Player grins as he grabs the black sports coat from the back of his chair. In a flourish, he puts it on and fluffs the lapel. “Good. Any nondescript teacher should perfect the disheveled look of a pre-Team-Red Devineaux. Think he’ll freak when he sees?”

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” she responds with bemusement. “He’ll try to adopt you. Again.”

Player chuckles as his mind drives down memory lane once more. “I guess height didn’t stop him from taking Zack and Ivy under his wing.”

“You’ve got Zack beat too now,” Carmen reminds him.

“The agony wasn’t worth the bragging rights,” Player groans as he continues cleaning the board. Phantom pain from the stretch marks on his back flair up. “Don’t tell Zack that.”

Carmen smiles, the laughter most clear in her eyes. “Our little secret,” she winks.

Lamenting aside, it still isn’t often he sees Carmen in person. He’s going to enjoy it for all its worth. “So what’s the occasion?” he wonders as he sits back on his desk. “Rescue another crown?”

The way her face melts and mouth curls into a small, fond smile puts Player right back in the diner again for the first time. He knows that, just like then, she’s not here to celebrate one of their combined achievements.

“Can’t I just congratulate my best friend?” she says wistfully. “You’ve been working so hard for this.”

The eraser in his hand suddenly feels much heavier than it should, marker dust beside, as Carmen gestures to his classroom. It’s impossible to suppress the instinctive wince, even as she offers the celebratory words. This isn’t the last time he’ll ponder over his career choice. “Yeah, I have,” he admits. “Sometimes I still wonder if I’m doing the right thing though.”

Carmen frowns. “You mean not joining the others at ACME?”

“I hacked my way to VILE island when I was twelve,” Player states, facing Carmen head-on. “As much as I love what I’m doing, part of me feels like it’s a waste of what I can _really_ do.”

“Okay, let’s stop right there,” Carmen says and turns his words against him. “You love what you do.” She sighs, and her mouth turns up in a smile. “And you know how much value there is in education. ACME has a lot of amazing agents, but there’s only one Player. You have a passion for this and the kids love you. I watched the end of your class; you’re a natural.”

Player smiles half-heartedly as she throws his own words back at him. Her words soothe all doubt, not that there had been much in the first, with her cheering him on all the way through his second master’s degree. But on his first day of school, it still feels reassuring to hear.

_Wow, you really know your geography._

It’s because of her that he’s here today, pursuing a passion they both share.

“Thanks, Red. That means the world to me.”

“That’s what friends are for,” she says easily, then smirks. “Besides, it’s not like you’re out of the business completely.”

“Yeah,” Player chuckles sheepishly. He grimaces at where his train of thought goes next. “But the second I’m on Chief’s payroll I’m going to have to admit I’m the one who broke her mainframe and I _really_ don’t want to do that.”

Carmen has the audacity to laugh at his predicament. “Wait a few more years. Jules will be more understanding.”

Dread pools in Player’s stomach. He’s the only person in the world who knows what Julia Argent is like as a boss, and is uniquely qualified to know what her tenure as ACME chief will look like. “That’s even worse! I’m pretty sure Jules already knows. She’s a great friend, Red, and an amazing mentor, but I was her teaching assistant for only a semester, and she worked me to the bone.”

Carmen strolls over behind his desk and takes a relaxed seat in his chair. A part of him is relieved to see her do that, because it means she’s here to talk for as long as he needs it. “So how long are you going to help Ivy and Zack with cases, then?”

Player shrugs noncommittally, eyes straying to the back of the classroom where five globes sit across the shelf. With a sigh, he realizes he knows the answer. For the only man on Earth who always knows where in the world Carmen Sandiego is, there is one search that has had his attention for the last several years. “The responsible thing to say is that I want to make sure The Troll is behind bars. I know all too well how much havoc he can create.” He leans back, spacing out as he watches the fluorescent lights flicker on the ceiling. Turning his head to face Carmen, he smiles as his next words leave his lips. “But honestly I don’t think I can ever say no to a request from a friend.”

And remind his oldest friend their long-standing partnership is still active.

“I know,” she says in a voice filled with admiration. It’s the same one she uses when the people she meets on capers make the right choices. He and Carmen have always been at each other’s metaphorical sides, so she’s never had a _reason_ to direct it towards him before.

He has to admit it warms his heart to receive that coveted affirmation.

“It’s still really sweet of you though,” she finishes.

“Well... I also might have requested their reenactment services for later in the school year,” he admits with a helpless shrug. “I teach the fourth grade. I can’t deny they’d be effective.”

Carmen raises an amused eyebrow, resting a cheek against her palm. “You’re going to let them teach about the Boston Tea Party in Toronto?”

“World history, Red,” he reminds her. “And I’m going to call in all the favors. Hideo has already agreed to do a guest lecture.”

Carmen perks up. “Is Shadowsan coming?”

Player smirks. “Of course. I’m his favorite after you. He said he wouldn’t endure an elementary school for anyone else.”

She chuckles, a hand barely covering the snickering. Player grins as he notices her closed eyes, a telltale sign of how comfortable she is here. “I’m meeting with him later, I can’t wait to hear what he has planned for your class.”

“Oh?” Player says with hopeful surprise. “He’s in town?” As much as he’s never minded keeping connected with his friends via video call, the moment Carmen showed up at his school some ten years ago is one of his most cherished memories. He’d have enjoyed the time with Zack and Ivy too, if they weren’t preoccupied with selling the termite-bees predicament to his principal.

“Yeah, he’s—“

The conversation is interrupted by a knock. Player leans forward from his perch on the desk, peeking around Carmen towards the door. “It’s open,” he answers with an air of curiosity.

Blond pigtails swish around a tiny face as Abby pokes her head into the room, clearly upset she’s still at school even though it’s the end of the day. “Mom needs help with her projector. She said you would know what to do.”

Ah, the joy of being not only the new teacher, but also unofficial tech support.

“I’ll be right there,” he promises. Though normally he doesn’t mind helping, his heart weighs down in disappointment that his time with Carmen is being cut short.

Rather than leaving to deliver the message to her mother, Abby cocks her head at the sight of Carmen. Player is unsurprised. Carmen has always had that effect on people, carrying herself simultaneously as if she were the most important person in the room, but also someone who was one hundred percent interested in you.

Abby furrows her brow. “Is that Mrs. Bouchard?” she asks innocently.

Player is glad he’s not drinking anything, otherwise he’d have spit it out.

Carmen handles it with far more grace than he, not even a spark of laughter to make Abby feel bad about asking the question. “Just an old friend,” she answers.

“We went to school together,” Player adds, grateful they’re both old enough that people will actually believe the half-truth. Or was it a quarter truth? “She just wanted to see the school I’m at now.”

Abby’s nose scrunches and eyes narrow in scrutiny as she processes this new information. Then she shrugs. “Okay. Bye!”

It’s only after she leaves that Player sighs in relief.

“It doesn’t feel weird to you, does it?”

Player blinks rapidly, head snapping to attention at the perplexing question at hand. “What?”

“Your name,” Carmen explains, though she looks distinctly embarrassed, and a bit apologetic. “I guess I’ve known you as Player for so long I forget sometimes you have a life outside of us.”

Player frowns. “You guys _are_ my life,” he says firmly. “You’re my friends, regardless of who calls me what and where. I’m not going anywhere just because I have this job now.”

And there it is, the teeny tiny doubt that he’s taken the wrong path rearing its ugly head once more. Player is the one who gets things done. Bouchard has just been a placeholder until he can be with his friends in person. And yet... he’s _chosen_ not to work with them full time, even though all it would take is a phone call and he’d be welcome with open arms.

Carmen studies him carefully. “I remember how excited you were when we first started working together. I couldn’t get a single word in before you would rattle off the coolest fact about the places I was going.”

Player folds his arms in indignation, an embarrassed warmth on his cheeks as Carmen brings up his childhood antics. “I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into. You were the one who got all excited about geography.”

“And then you started going more in depth with your research when Zack and Ivy joined us, making sure they knew what to expect wherever we went.” She chuckles with a fond smile on her face. “This has always been a part of you, Player. And then we finally got you out of your dark little cave to see all those places. That explanation we used to give about going to school together has a lot more truth to it now.”

Player knows she doesn’t mean the penpal-like relationship they’d had during her VILE training. An easy smile curls up his face, reminiscing on the beginning of their friendship and then on the best year of his life.

“Traditionally, taking a year to travel the world doesn’t really count as higher education...but you taking me to see where all the old capers happened definitely prepared me for this job better than a lot of my actual classes.”

Carmen leans back in the chair. “And the others appreciated having you back behind the monitor. I know it was annoying to set up in a different hotel room every night,” she ends apologetically.

“Was worth it to get back into the action with you,” he shoots right back. “I still have the pic you took of the gang from the rooftop. Everyone was looking pretty sharp.”

They share a chuckle, then fade into companionable silence once more, but it isn’t long before his heart is heavy again.

“I’d better go be tech support,” he sighs. He turns to her, trying to express the gratitude he has for her being here. “Thanks for stopping by. It really means a lot.”

“Oh, you aren’t done with me yet,” she grins like she has a plan. “Go help Abby’s mom, and then we’ll go celebrate.”

Player raises an eyebrow. “Celebrate where? The diner is a good hour and a half drive away.”

Carmen nods her head towards the window. Player receives his answer in the form of a car horn, one he became intimately familiar with during the seven months Carmen was under VILE’s control.

Lydia.

There, across the playground, the custom car sits decked out in professional ACME-black. Even from this distance, he can see two heads of red hair and arms waving wildly and ready to make Player the middle of a Bostonian sandwich.

He doesn’t miss Devineaux’s tuft of tussled, light-brown hair sticking out of the sunroof, the man pulling himself up and searching the schoolyard like he’s in the crow’s nest of a ship. Nor does he miss when Julia steps out from the back seat, smiling brightly, and waves a red binder into the air. Player grins, a hand over half his face with embarrassment as he recognizes the binding for his grad school thesis.

“She said she wouldn’t return it until I joined ACME,” he mumbles affectionately.

“Can't blame her for trying,” Carmen says, grinning as she gets up from out of the chair. Her smile turns soft. “We’re all really happy for you, you know.”

The overflowing of support sends tingles through his heart. Everyone he cares about is here, and all for him to celebrate his choice to teach. He’s always known they’re his friends just as much as Carmen’s, even if it’s easy to forget it, since he met them all through her.

Before he realizes it, his lips are wobbling.

“Red…” It’s all he manages to get out with a choked sob, before she’s hugging him again.

“I’m so proud of you, Player.”

Player chuckles as he grips the back of her red hoodie. It’s getting harder to hold back the tears as the memory of their first introduction tickles his mind. He’s come a long way from a white hat hacker, dedicated to righting wrongs on the dark web. He was twelve, and all he’d wanted to do was help people—and he did so in the grandest (and maybe a bit naive) way possible with Carmen’s help.

Now he doesn’t have to hide behind a persona. He’s still Player, always will be. But now the part of him with a day job and taxes and a residential address gets to do his part.

“Thank you,” he whispers. “For picking up that phone and being the best friend I could ask for.”

For not accidentally turning in a naive child to a criminal organization just because he was curious to find out who was on the other end of the line and cocky enough to tell them how bad their security was.

He’s pretty sure he doesn’t imagine when she grips harder. “I owe you so much for calling in the first place.”

Player swallows. It’s been several minutes, and Abby might be back if he doesn’t show up in her mother’s classroom room. So, he takes several deep breaths to compose himself and reluctantly breaks away from the hug. “I wouldn’t trade you or any of our friends for the world. I’m looking forward to tonight.”

Carmen smiles, tears in her own eyes. “Go play technology hero. We’ll be waiting out front. Shadowsan is holding our room all night.”

A night with all of his closest friends is the most perfect way Player can think of to celebrate.

And for him to be in person, rather than being the only one on the video call? To not just be the guy who keeps everyone connected, but to be in the thick of the action? Player has never been more sure or content with his life.

It feels a lot like coming home.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://rueitae.tumblr.com/)! Please leave a comment if you liked it! I'm anxious to know your favorite part(s)!
> 
> So...thinking I might make this a series? Magic School Bus style but its Geography and all of Player's friends are working to put VILE behind bars. Player helps but he has a group of eight kids in Geography Club and things get really hands on. 
> 
> Also working on some Player whump in the canon timeline. So regardless, more to come.


End file.
